This Friday, try pedaling to work

Put down the car keys and grab your other set of wheels — Friday is Bike to Work Day in Snohomish County.The nationwide event held in May promotes bicycling as an option for commuting to work. The date varies by city.Commuter stations offer snacks, maps and bike tips. To find a station near you, go to www.cascade.org/commute-stations.In Everett, Mayor Ray Stephanson and other city officials will lead a celebration ride at 7:30 a.m. from the Snohomish County Courthouse to Everett Station. The ride starts at the plaza at Wall Street and Rockefeller Avenue. Bike to Work Day T-shirts will be given out on a first-come basis.Free bicycling maps, refreshments and safety checks will be offered from 5 to 9 a.m. at Everett Station, 3201 Smith Ave.; Everett Boeing station, 75th Street and Seaway Boulevard; South Everett station, Beverly Park and Commando Roads; and Lynnwood Transit Center, Interurban Trail at 202nd St. SW and 46th Avenue W.For more information, visit www.ci.everett.wa.us.The Edmonds bike commuter station is from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Copper Pot Indian Bar & Grill, 102 Main St., near the bus, train and ferry transit hubs.Jan Niemi of Edmonds Bicycle Advocacy Group said any bike will do.“Last year, one lady found a bike in her garage that was dirty and dusty with a flat tire. She dusted it off, pumped it up, took the ferry across to Edmonds and went to her job in Lynnwood,” Niemi said.“Another one came on a child's bike. It was a dad riding a purple-and-pink bike.”Anything goes.“It's always kind of entertaining,” Niemi said. “Some get dressed up in zany costumes.”A celebration ride begins at 7:30 a.m. at the PCC parking lot, 9803 Edmonds Way. For more information, got to www.edmondsbicyclegroup.org.Andrea Brown; 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com

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